Last October, Marc-Alexis Coté, who had been head of the Assassin’s Creed franchise since 2022, announced his departure from Ubisoft after more than 20 years of loyal service. While the French publisher regretted his resignation, Coté later stated that he had been sidelined and pushed out.
Coté has now announced his intention to take Ubisoft to court. He is claiming $1.3 million from his former employer for what he calls a “disguised dismissal.” This sum represents two years’ salary and $75,000 in moral damages.
In the document, Marc-Alexis Coté explains that Ubisoft was actually looking to recruit a new franchise manager to oversee the three licenses held by Vantage Studios. The publisher’s subsidiary, co-financed by Tencent, now houses the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six sagas. Coté was then reportedly demoted to “production manager” (under the franchise manager), losing the opportunity to oversee the future of the series. The publisher then reportedly wanted to offer him the management of a creative entity containing only the company’s secondary licenses.
According to the same document, Ubisoft reportedly pressured Marc-Alexis Coté to make a decision within two weeks. He ultimately considered it to be an “unacceptable demotion” and a “disguised dismissal”. From his point of view, this was not the “voluntary departure” mentioned in the company’s press release. By using this argument, the company was no longer obliged to pay him severance pay and could maintain a non-competition clause.
Ubisoft has not yet made a public statement.
